Modern televised weather reports incorporate computer generated graphical information in combination with video segments and live presenters to provide weather reports which are both informative and entertaining. Such reports are typically prepared by a meteorologist or other technician based upon weather information provided from a variety of weather information sources, including forecast data from weather forecasting models. Computer based production equipment is employed for generating graphical displays of weather information and for combining the graphical displays with video segments to provide the entire weather report presentation.
Computer-based systems, including detailed computerized geographic maps, and other graphics generating capabilities, may be employed to combine the information provided from various weather information sources and forecast models into an integrated weather report. Computer-generated graphics are often combined with live presenters and/or live or recorded video segments to provide a complete weather presentation to a viewer as part of a televised weather report. For example, such a presentation may include live video of current weather conditions or recorded video segments of weather conditions occurring during the day for which the weather report is provided.
Video segments of past and current weather conditions employed as part of a televised weather presentation may include time-lapsed photography video presentations. For example, a video camera may be positioned to take a video image of the sky conditions evolving throughout a day or other time period of interest (e.g., taken near a landmark which would be recognized by viewers of the weather presentation). The video camera may be computer controlled to take frames of video images at spaced apart time intervals throughout the time period of interest. When the time-lapsed video created in this manner is played back at normal speed, a sped-up video image of the evolving sky conditions is presented. Using time-lapsed photography in this manner, a televised weather report may present a dramatic video summary of evolving sky conditions throughout an entire day with a video segment running only a few seconds.
Forecasts of future weather conditions for a location are typically provided as part of a weather presentation using a relatively simple graphical and textual presentation format. For example, future weather conditions are often presented using a simple graphical presentation format showing a time-line of future time periods with high and/or low temperatures and a graphical indication of general sky conditions for those time periods indicated thereon. Such a presentation may include a computer generated graphic illustration of a sun, if the forecast sky conditions are sunny, clouds, if the forecast sky conditions are cloudy, rain and lightening, if thunderstorms are predicted, etc. Such sky condition graphics and forecast high/low temperatures may be overlaid on a map display, thereby allowing forecast sky conditions and temperatures for a given time period to be presented simultaneously for various locations throughout a region.
Although such relatively simple presentations of future forecast weather conditions are typically clear, accurate, and easily understandable, such simple presentations are not very dramatic or memorable. What is desired, therefore, is a system and method for generating a presentation of future forecast weather conditions which conveys more dramatically to viewers thereof the weather conditions they are likely to experience in the future. Such a system and method should be easily employed by meteorologists or other technicians to generate quickly dramatic forecast weather presentations based on available weather forecast data.